Book and film the 4th. I like this one best. The first two saw Harry, Ron and Hermione as younger children and the films were geared to the younger audiences who identify with the characters and their adventures.

The third was darker, with sinister happenings. Now they are fourteen, the stories not for the younger children but rather for their peers – and adult audiences will also enjoy this.

For a while, controversy surrounded Harry Potter and the issue of magic. This is not a world of witches and warlocks. Rather, it is a world of wizards. Computer language likes the name ‘wizard’ for some of the marvellous things computers can copy and fix. And, since 2001, wizards seem absolutely respectable because of Gandalf. No one imagines that Tolkein’s world actually exists and nobody is bothered by the mythologies he weaves nor with the magic and spells. They belong to a fantasy world, a world so different from our own. Harry Potter lives in a similar kind of imaginary world. If anyone mistook this world for a real world, that would be a worry – and some anxious campaigners spoke about the Potter world as if it were real and condemned it.

By now, we can all sit back and enjoy the wonderful adventures.
The other point to be made is that with the children now as young teenagers (and Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have themselves grown older as each new film has been made), they are at the age for what we call ‘rites of passage’. Adulthood and adult responsibilities are just around the corner.

This means that, although the trio are a bit gawky and not too versed in the ways of the (real) world as they excel at lessons and magic, they have to become aware of attractions towards the opposite sex, mood swings and suspicions and tensions for friendships, and learning to be more mature. This aspect is one of the best features of the film, raising all the questions well but quietly and subtly – and, for us, amusingly. Asking partners to go to the Yule ball, learning to dance and knowing the protocols of the ball make strong demands on them.

The rites of passage are also seen in the ‘quest’ theme of the film. Harry dreams of threats by Lord Valdemort and, ultimately, has to confront him. It is a clash between evil and good. On the way to this finale, Harry has to go through tests, an equivalent of initiation in other cultures. The Goblet of Fire is the instrument for naming the three entrants in the Triwizard competition. Age-wise, he is too young to enter but the Goblet reveals his name.

The three tests are symbolic (but made vividly actual with top special effects). The first is a confrontation with the wild side of nature, a battle with a dragon. The second is to plunge into the deep and rescue close friends despite the water perils and the attacking mermaids. The third is to find one’s way through a dangerous maze to the light. [Psychologists are really going to like these symbols from J.K.Rowling’s imagination.]

Not only does Harry come through (that does not, of course, spoil the ending), he shows himself courageous beyond his years, selfless in saving others even though he is momentarily tempted to self-promotion. He is a boy with a sense of responsibility and a generous spirit. It is a tribute to Daniel Radcliffe’s staying with the role and credibly showing Harry’s development as a boy.

The large British cast is excellent with the regulars like Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane. Ralph Fiennes makes a very sinister Valdemort. Brendan Gleeson steals much of the show as a wild, one-eyed teacher as does Miranda Richardson as an obnoxiously intrusive reporter.

The numerous special effects and action sequences are better than ever.

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